aQS-ANG 


*  8 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON 


WASHINGTON 


AND 


HIS    GENERALS 


BY 

J.  T.  HEADLEY 

AUTHOR  or  "NAPOLEON  AND  Hia  MARSHALS,"  ETC. 


VOLUME  I 


CHICAGO: 

THE  HENNEBERRY  COMPANY 
554  WABASH  AVENUE 


H  34  w 


TO 

HENRY  DWIGHT,  JR. 

THESE  VOLUMES 

ABB  RESPECTFULLY  INSCRIBED,  AS  A  SLIGHT  TOKEN  0V 
ESTEEM  AND  AFFECTION  BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


403156 


CONTENTS 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

The  Circumstances  under  which  he  Appeared — His  Early  Life 
Analysis  of  his  Character — His  Love  of  Adventure — His 
Impetuosity — His  Self-control — Control  over  Others — 
His  Patriotism — His  Farewell  to  his  Army,  and  Officers, 
and!  Congress — His  Death 13 

MAJOR-GENERAL  PUTNAM. 

His  Early  Life — Enlists  in  the  English  Army — Perilous  Ad- 
venture at  Crown  Point — At  the  Ovens — Massacre  at 
Fort  William  Henry — Saves  a  Magazine  of  Powder  from 
the  Flames — Battle  by  Moonlight — Is  taken  Prisoner — 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill — Break-neck  Ride  down  a  Preci- 
pice— Struck  with  Paralysis — His  Character  .  .  72 

MAJOR-GENERAL  MONTGOMERY. 

His  Early  Life — Appointed  Brigadier-General  in  the  Ameri- 
can Army — Invades  Canada — March  to  Quebec — Storm- 
ing of  the  City  in  the  midst  of  a  Snow-storm — His 
Bravery  and  Death — His  Character  .  .  103 

MAJOR-GENERAL  ARNOLD. 

His  Birth  and  Boyhood — His  Cruel  Disposition — Enters  the 
Army — Sent  against  Ticonderoga — The  March  across  the 
Wilderness — Sufferings  of  his  Men  at  Quebec — Retreat 
from  Canada — Battle  of  Valcour  Island — Bravery  at 
Danbury — Relieves  Fort  Schuyler — His  Bravery  at  Sara- 
toga— Quarrel  with  Gates — His  Terrible  Appearance  in 
the  Second  Battle  of  Saratoga — His  Treason  and  Char- 
acter—His Death 114 

MAJOR-GENERAL  STARK. 

His  Youth — Taken  Prisoner  by  the  Indians  and  Runs  the 
Gauntlet — Enters  the  Army — Battle  with  the  French  and 
Indians — Exhibition  of  Great  Physical  Power — Bravery 
at  Bunker  Hill — Battles  of  Trenton — Retires  from  the 
Army — Battle  of  Bennington — Close  of  his  Career — His 

Character 155 

V 


VI  CONTENTS. 

MAJOR-GENERAL  SCHUYLER. 

His  Early  Life — Noble  Conduct  as  a  Member  of  the  Provin- 
cial Assembly  of  New  York — Appointed  over  the  Expedi- 
tion to  Canada — His  Complicated  Services — Evacuates 
Fort  Edward — Murder  of  Jane  McCrea — Battle  of  Oris- 
kany — Relief  of  Fort  Schuyler — Is  Superseded  by  Gates 
— His  Noble  Conduct  under  it — Resigns  his  Command — 
His  Political  Career — His  Death  and  Character  .  .  171 

MAJOR-GENERAL  GATES. 

His  Early  Life — Is  Wounded  at  the  Battle  of  Monongahela — 
Appointed  Brigadier-General  of  the  Army — Commands 
the  Northern  Army — First  Battle  of  Bemis's  Heights — 
Second  Battle  of  Bemis's  Heights — Scene  after  the  Bat- 
tle— Gates's  Vanity  and  Meanness — Plots  against  Wash- 
ington— Battle  of  Camden — Bravery  of  De  Kalb — 
Gates's  Character  .......  201 

MAJOR-GENERAL  STEUBEN. 

Wrong  Views  in  the  Country  Respecting  Discipline — Steu- 
ben's  Rank  in  Europe — Arrival  in  this  Country — Joins 
the  Army  at  Valley  Forge  and  is  Appointed  Inspector- 
General — His  Mode  of  Discipline—Changes  he  Intro- 
duced into  the  Army — Effect  of  Discipline — Retires  to 
his  Land  near  Utica — His  Death  and  Burial — His  Char- 
acter, with  Personal  Anecdotes  .....  228 

MAJOR-GENERAL  WAYNE. 

His  Early  Life — Appointed  Brigadier-General — Conduct  at 
Brandy  wine — Battle  of  Germantown — Is  Surprised  by 
the  British — Bravery  at  Monmouth — Storming  of  Stony 
Point — Bravery  at  Green  Spring — Wounded  by  a  Sen- 
tinel— Is  sent  to  Georgia — Defeats  the  Choctaws — Sur- 
prises the  English — Storming  of  his  Camp  by  the  Indians 
— Returns  to  Private  Life — Expedition  against  the  In- 
dians in  1793 — His  Character 245 

MAJOR-GENERALS  CONWAY  AND  MIFFLIN. 

The  Conway  Cabal — Duel  between  Conway  and  Cadwalader 
— Letter  of  the  Former  to  Washington — Mifflin's  Career 
and  Character  ........  266 

MAJOR-GENERALS   WARD  AND  HEATH  .  271 


PREFACE 

The  design  of  the  following  work  is  to  group  around 
Washington  the  chief  characters  and  scenes  of  our  Revo- 
lution. In  all  histories  of  that  event,  movements  and 
results  are  given,  rather  than  scenes;  and  hence,  while 
the  plan  and  progress  are  clearly  developed,  the  heroic 
character  and  thrilling  interest  of  the  struggle  are  in  a 
great  measure  lost.  It  thus  necessarily  becomes  a  matter 
of  business,  and  the  enthusiasm  and  fervor  which  char- 
acterized it,  and  indeed  were  the  most  remarkable  facts 
of  all,  do  not  have  their  due  prominence.  In  histories 
designed  to  give  all  the  details  and  minutiae,  both  in  the 
civil  and  military  departments,  this  is  almost  inevitable. 
Alison  ^and  Napier,  however,  furnish  exceptions  to  this 
rule. 

It  is  a  little  strange  that  a  war,  embracing  more  of  the 
romantic  and  heroic  than  any  that  ever  transpired,  should 
appear  on  record  so  tame  and  business-like.  But,  in  the 
effort  to  render  to  every  regiment  and  company  its  due 
honor,  and  to  give  an  exact  description  of  the  manner 
in  which  every  battle  is  fought,  the  spirit  is  necessarily 
lost  sight  of;  yet  the  complete  historian  feels  under 
obligation  to  do  this.  My  plan  does  not  confine  me  to 
such  details;  and  hence,  while  I  have  endeavored  to 
present  a  correct  and  accurate  description  of  every  battle- 
field, I  have  often  sunk  minor  movements  and  individual 
actions,  in  order  to  prevent  confusion.  In  writing  the 
account  of  a  campaign  or  battle  for  a  military  man,  one 
needs  to  look  on  it  from  a  different  point  of  view  than  he 
would  in  writing  for  the  general  reader. 

Again,  in  sketching  the  men  who  led  our  armies,  I 
have  left  out  those  minutiae  which  would  be  considered 
indispensable  in  writing  their  separate  lives,  and  pre- 

vii 


Vlll  .  PREFACE. 

served  only  their  more  important  characteristic  acts. 
Hence  it  will  be  seen,  that  it  is  my  object  to  give  the 
eventful  part  of  our  Revolution,  rather  than  its  detailed 
history. 

Washington,  standing  amid  his  band  of  patriot  gen- 
erals, is  to  me  the  sublimest  spectacle  the  history  of  the 
world  furnishes.  In  watching  them  as  they  move  together 
through  the  long  midnight  that  enveloped  our  prospects, 
one  finds  something  more  to  record  than  the  chivalrous 
deeds  of  brave,  ambitious  men,  or  the  triumphs  of  disci- 
plined armies:  there  is  the  enthusiastic  love  of  liberty, 
unconquerable  resolution,  the  firm  reliance  on  Heaven,  to- 
gether with  all  that  is  good  and  heroic  in  action.  Risking 
their  fortunes  to  gain,  it  might  be,  a  halter — enduring 
privations,  sufferings,  and  years  of  toil  for  the  sake  of 
principle — they  present  a  group  on  which  the  eye  rests 
with  ever-increasing  admiration. 

In  making  out  the  list  of  those  whom  I  should  intro- 
duce, I  was  forced,  in  order  to  preserve  any  unity,  to 
confine  myself  to  the  Major-Generals.  These  under  our 
system  correspond  mainly  to  the  Marshals  of  France — 
being  placed  over  wings  and  divisions  of  an  army,  and 
intrusted  often  with  separate  commands.  Hence,  in  giv- 
ing an  account  of  their  movements  and  their  battles,  the 
actions  of  Brigadier-Generals  necessarily  came  in,  ren- 
dering it  impossible  afterwards  to  furnish  separate 
sketches  of  the  latter  without  producing  inextricable 
confusion. 

Some  would  think  that  such  men  as  Morgan,  and 
Henry  Lee,  and  Sumpter,  and  Pickens,  and  Clinton,  and 
others  deserve  a  prominent  place,  and  so  they  do;  but 
acting  in  a  subordinate  capacity,  it  is  impossible  to  place 
them  in  any  other  relative  position.  Lee  and  Morgan, 
especially,  merit  all  the  praise  bestowed  on  any  chief  com- 
mander. I  have  therefore  endeavored  to  render  them 
and  others  justice,  in  describing  the  battles  they  helped 
to  gain ;  and  in  an  Appendix  supplied  their  biographies. 
Colonel  Hamilton,  too,  was  one  of  the  most  important 
men  of  the  Revolution;  but  as  aid  to  Washington,  his 
services  partook  more  of  the  cabinet  than  the  field.  Prob- 
ably there  was  no  officer  in  the  service  more  capable  of 


PREFACE.  IX 

managing  an  army,  or  that  would  have  shed  greater 
lustre  on  our  arms  than  he.  But  Washington  could  not 
spare  him  from  his  side.  Chivalrous,  brave,  of  profound 
forethought  and  transcendent  genius,  he  would  have  run 
a  military  career  surpassed  by  none.  Still  he  rendered 
greater  service  where  he  was — for  the  daring  and  reso- 
lute youth  was  one  of  the  firmest  props  of  Washington. 
But  as  ray  design  is  to  sketch  the  military  part  of  the 
Revolution,  and  also  to  confine  myself  to  the  chief  com- 
manders, I  have  not  incorporated  him  in  the  work. 

In  collecting  materials,  I  have  been  surprised  at  the 
dearth  of  details  necessary  to  give  one  a  complete  and 
clear  conception  of  the  battles  fought.  There  is  not  an 
action  in  which  Bonaparte  was  engaged  so  barren  of 
personal  incident  as  every  one  of  those  in  which  Wash- 
ington took  a  part.  This  is  doubtless  partly  owing  to 
the  want  of  newspapers  at  t'*at  time.  Our  chief  cities 
were  in  possession  of  the  enemy,  and  hence  every  repub- 
lican press  silenced.  Besides,  it  was  a  period  of  great 
dignity  both  in  manner  and  language,  and  important 
characters  were  not  spoken  of  with  that  familiarity  they 
now  are.  This  is  one  great  reason  why  Washington's 
correspondence  and  writings  appear  so  formal  and 
restrained. 

The  incidents  which  have  been  preserved  have  come 
down  to  us  by  tradition.  -These  our  Historical  Societies 
have  gathered  up  with  great  care,  though  they  are  scat- 
tered over  a  wide  space.  Every  one,  writing  of  a  char- 
acter or  an  event,  jots  down  any  interesting  incident  he 
may  possess,  whether  belonging  in  that  connection  or  not, 
solely  to  preserve  it ;  and  thus  material  lies  separate  and 
disjointed  through  our  libraries.  If  I  have  in  the  present 
work  rendered  the  history  of  our  country  any  service,  it 
is  in  gathering  and  grouping  together  those  hitherto  di- 
vided and  diffused  materials.  It  would  be  in  vain  for 
me  to  attempt  to  give  all  the  authorities  and  papers  I 
have  consulted,  and  to  which  I  am  indebted.  The  Histor- 
ical Society  Library  of  New  York  City  has  been  of 
incalculable  service  to  me ;  Sparks's  collection  of  Ameri- 
can Biographies  has  saved  me  a  world  of  trouble,  by 
furnishing  me  the  early  history  of  the  separate  command- 


X  PREFACE. 

ers,  together  with  dates  and  outlines.    I  have,  however, 
passed   from   one   authority  to  another,    consulting  old 
newspapers,  and  a  large  collection  of  clippings  of  papers 
in  possession  of  the  Historical  Society,  so  that  faithful 
reference  to  all  my  sources  of  information  would  be  tedi- 
ous and  useless.     But  in  writing  the  sketches  of  Arnold 
and  Marion,  I  have  followed  almost  exclusively  the  life 
of  the  former  by  Sparks,  and  of  the  latter  by  Simms. 
Mr.  Simms,  especially,  will  find  that  I  have  used  his 
interesting  biography  of  Marion  without  stint.     I  have 
sought  to  be  accurate  in  all  the  facts  stated  and  hence 
have  left  out  many  things  of  interest,  which  I  believe  to 
be  true,  because  the  evidence  rests  entirely  on  some  tradi- 
tionary story.     That  I  should  frequently  disagree  with 
authorities  esteemed  reliable  is  inevitable,  for  they  dis- 
agree among  themselves.     When  it  is  remembered  that 
Putnam's  share  in  the  battle  of  Bunker-Hill  has  been 
treated  with  contempt,  and  even  his  bravery  questioned 
by  some,  while  others  render  him  the  chief  glory  of  the 
action;  and  that  the  fact  of  Arnold's  being  in  the  first 
battle  of  Bemis's  Heights,  which  was  fought  entirely  by 
his  division,  has  been  stoutly  denied  by  an  officer  of  rank 
in  the  engagement;  it  cannot  surprise  any  one  to  find 
my  statements  at  war  with  those  of  some  writers.    Where 
accounts  clash,  as  they  frequently  do,  in  an  early  history, 
one  must  be  governed  by  his  own  views  of  the  probabili- 
ties in  the  case. 

But  my  great  labor  has  been  spent  in  collecting  facts 
illustrating  the  battles  of  the  E.evolution.  I  have  avoided 
repetition,  as  much  as  possible,  but  yet  have  chosen  in 
some  places  to  let  this  fault  remain,  in  order  to  secure 
an  object  I  could  not  reach  without  it.  In  going  over 
the  same  scenes,  and  frequently  over  the  same  battles, 
it  is  not  only  inevitable,  but  necessary  to  a  clear  narra- 
tive. Besides,  the  intense  words  of  our  language  are 
easily  exhausted;  and  one  is  often  compelled,  in  describ- 
ing thrilling  scenes,  to  choose  between  a  weak  sentence, 
and  the  repetition  of  strong  words  and  perhaps  similar 
comparisons.  Repetition  has  been  a  standing  charge 
against  my  "Napoleon  and  his  Marshals" ;  yet  if  I  were 
to  re-write  it  a  thousand  times,  I  could  not  avoid  it,  with- 


PREFACE.  XI 

out  making  half  the  scenes  tame  and  commonplace.  It 
seems  to  me,  that  a  series  of  sketches  ought  not  to  be 
judged  by  the  same  rules  as  a  connected  history.  They 
are  not  designed  to  have  any  relation  to  each  other,  any 
more  than  a  separate  collection  of  paintings ;  and  to  make 
one  tame,  in  order  to  relieve  the  other,  appears  a  very 
questionable  mode  of  treating  men  and  their  actions. 
Each  should  be  judged  by  itself,  and  if  it  be  complete, 
and  true  to  nature  and  fact,  that  is  all  that  can  be  ex- 
pected. Everything  in  this  world,  but  moral  excellence, 
is  a  choice  between  two  evils ;  and  one  thing  has  always 
to  be  sacrificed  to  gain  another. 


WAS  00  0  W«JY©  ft  . 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON 

The  Circumstances  Under  Which  He  Appeared — His  Early  Life 
— Analysis  of  His  Character — His  Love  of  Adventure— His  Im- 
petuosity— His  Self-control — Control  over  Others — His  Patriot- 
ism—His Farewell  to  His  Army  and  Officers,  and  Congress — 
His  Death. 

THOUGH  seemingly  a  contradiction,  it  is  nevertheless 
true,  that  time  only  renders  the  character  of  Washington 
more  clear,  while  the  circumstances  which  developed  it 
became  more  and  more  distinct.  One  would  think  it 
indispensable  to  the  correct  estimation  of  a  character, 
that  we  should  have  a  definite  knowledge  of  the  events 
with  which  it  stood  connected,  and  of  the  influences  that 
helped  to  form  it.  It  is  so,  but  we  have  to  lose  one  thing 
to  gain  another — to  sacrifice  the  right  understanding 
which  personal  knowledge  and  direct  contact  give  to  se- 
cure the  removed  point  of  an  impartial  observer.  In  a 
struggle  like  that  of  our  Revolution,  characterized  as  it 
was  by  personal  animosity,  divided  sympathies,  and,  more 
than  all,  by  many  disasters,  the  leader  of  it  must  always 
be  more  or  less  the  victim  of  prejudice.  It  matters  not 
whether  he  be  a  good  or  bad  man,  whether  eulogized  or 
condemned ; — feeling  will  have  more  to  do  with  the 
verdict  rendered  than  judgment.  Bonaparte  did  not  wish 
his  life  written  till  twenty-five  years  after  his  death,  as 
he  considered  it  impossible  for  the  historians  of  that  gen- 
eration to  view  his  career  with  an  impartial  eye.  One 
might  as  well  attempt  to  give  a  clear  and  correct  descrip- 
tion of  the  movements  of  the  several  columns  of  an 
army  in  a  great  battle,  while  he  himself  is  in  the  smoke 
and  confusion  of  the  fight,  as  to  be  an  unprejudiced 
historian  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  especially  if 
they  have  been  marked  by  the  breaking  up  of  old  forms 
and  relations,  and  the  institution  of  new  ideas  and  new 

13 


14  WASHINGTON  AND  HIS  GENERALS. 

experiments.  Hence  all  great  reformers  are  covered  with 
obloquy  in  one  age  and  canonized  in  another.  As  we 
recede  from  the  scene  of  conflict  and  turmoil,  we  are  apt 
to  become  more  impartial.  The  point  of  observation  is 
the  safest  point,  and  this  cannot  be  secured  except  we 
stand  at  a  distance.  Thus  Washington  is  more  highly 
appreciated  the  farther  removed  the  scenes  become  in 
which  he  lived.  The  Englishman  forgets  his  national 
animosity,  so  bitter  during  the  Revolution  and  immedi- 
ately after  it,  and  the  monarchist  lays  aside  his  hatred 
of  republican  principles,  to  unite  in  an  eulogy  over  the 
incorruptible  patriot  and  hero.  The  whole  world  renders 
homage  to  the  man,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  to  the 
end  of  time;  yet  no  one  can  now  fully  appreciate  the 
circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed. 

The  American  Revolution  was  an  anomaly  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world.     For  a  feeble  colony  just  struggling 
into  existence, — without  ships,  without  a  regular  army, 
and  without  munitions  of  war,  to  enter  into  open  combat 
with  the  most  powerful  nation  on  the  globe  for  the  sake 
of  a  mere  principle,  was  opening  a  new  page  to  the  eye 
of  monarchs,  which  it  is  no  wonder  they  trembled  tf 
read.     Bounded  on  one  side  by  a  limitless  forest  filler 
with  hostile  savages,  and  on  the  other  by  the  ocean,  who,c 
bosom  was  covered  with  the  fleets  of  her  foes,  she  neve 
theless  stood  up  in  the  simple  majesty  of  justice,  a 
offered  battle  to  the  strongest  empire  in  the  world.    I 
tional  weakness,  internal  feuds  and  foes,  the  prese 
and  power  of  colonial  magistrates  and  governors,  v 
disregarded,  or  seen  only  to  excite  higher  resolution ; 
Massachusetts  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  the  gathei 
storm  and  called  aloud  to  Virginia,  and  Virginia  answ 
her,  sending  her  cheering  voice  through  the  gloom, 
bring  harmony  out  of  the  discord  that  prevailed,  prod 
strength  from  weakness,  and  create  resources  where  t. 
did  not  exist,  was  the  work  assigned  to  George  Wat 
ington.    How  he  succeeded  amid  the  difficulties  that  bes* 
his  path,  and  for  a  period  of  seven  years,  filled  as  the;, 
were  with  disasters  and  sufferings,  maintained  his  posi- 
tion, bafHed  his  foes,  and  finally  saved  his  country,  will 
always  remain  a  marvel  to  the  historian  of  those  times. 


WASHINGTON  AND  HIS  GENERALS.  1$ 

Though  we  may  now  eulogize  his  character,  we  cannot 
estimate  the  fiery  trial  to  which  he  was  exposed.  The 
immense  burden  that  lay  on  his  shoulders  during  those 
seven  years  of  gloom  and  darkness,  the  obstacles  that 
thickened  as  he  advanced,  the  obloquy  that  would  attend 
failure,  and  the  misery  that  a  single  misstep  might  inflict 
on  his  country,  and,  more  than  all,  the  hopes  of  liberty 
intrusted  to  his  care,  combined  to  make  him  a  prey  to  the 
most  ceaseless  anxiety,  and  render  his  life  one  of  toil, 
mental  activity,  and  fearful  forebodings,  sufficient  to 
wreck  the  loftiest  character.  All  the  details — those  petty 
annoyances,  hopes  deferred,  promises  broken,  aid  refused 
or  plans  baffled  by  professed  friends — are  left  out  of  the 
account  when  we  reckon  up  his  qualities  and  estimate  his 
virtues.  Yet  these  are  often  the  severest  tests  of  a  man, 
and  those  who  have  stood  firm  as  a  rock  and  pure  as  gold 
under  great  trials,  have  fallen  or  failed  in  these  lesser 
ones. 

That  was  a  gloomy  hour  for  our  country,  when  the 
British  empire  roused  itself  for  our  overthrow,  and  it 
required  more  than  a  prophet's  vision  to  see  light  through 
the  cloud  that  hung  over  our  prospects.    The  Indian  war 
had  just  closed,  and  the  feeble  colonies  were  beginning 
o  emerge  from  the  difficulties  and  hardships  to  which 
ley  had  been  exposed,  when  they  were  compelled  to  con- 
mplate   a  new  evil,   to  which   all   they   had   hitherto 
ffered  and  borne  were  but  trifles.    They  had  faced  the 
ary  wilderness  and  lurking  savage  without  fear,  and 
erfully  encountered  every  trial,  and  now,  just  as  the 
ht  seemed  past  and  the  morning  of  prosperity  dawn- 
,  a  day  so  dark  and  appalling  rose  before  them,  that 
.  firmest  heart  sunk  for  a  moment  in  despondency. 
t  little  wealth  they  had  hoarded,  the  new  comforts 
y  had  at  length  succeeded  in  gathering  around  them, 
st  be  given  up,  and  a  war,  the  end  of  which  no  man 
uld  see,  entered  upon,  or  the  liberty  for  which  they  had 
idured  and  suffered  so  long  surrendered  forever.    With- 
jjut  arms  or  ammunition,  without  any  of  the  means  neces- 
sary to  carry  on  hostilities,  with  nothing  to  rely  upon  but 
the  justice  of  their  cause  and  the  protection  of  Heaven, 
they  nevertheless  boldly  entered  on  the  doubtful  contest. 


ID  WASHINGTON  AND  HIS  GENERALS. 

The  trumpet  of  war  sounded  through  all  our  peaceful  set- 
tlements, calling  the  artisan  from  his  bench,  the  farmer 
from  his  plough,  and  the  man  of  wealth  from  his  repose, 
and  the  shock  came.  Our  cities  were  ravaged,  our  towns 
laid  waste,  all  our  strongholds  taken,  and  our  citizens 
butchered,  yet  still  the  nation  stood  firm  in  her  integrity 
and  her  purpose.  At  length  defeat  came,  and  with  it  de- 
spondency, and  privations,  and  sufferings  unparalleled, 
till  at  last  the  army  became  almost  wholly  disorganized, 
gradually  melting  away,  and  everything  trembled  on  the 
verge  of  ruin ;  yet,  serene  amid  the  storm,  stood  Washing- 
ton, sending  his  clear,  calm  voice  over  the  tumult,  inspir- 
ing hope  and  courage  when  both  seemed  madness.  Never 
before  did  such  destinies  hang  on  a  single  man,  for  it  was 
not  the  fate  of  a  continent  which  rested  on  the  issue  of 
the  struggle,  but  of  human  liberty  the  world  over. 

Born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Virginia,  February  22d, 
1732,  George  Washington  was  forty-three  years  of  age 
when  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  American 
army.  Educated  only  in  the  common  schools,  he  was  of- 
fered a  midshipman's  berth  in  the  British  navy  when  but 
fourteen  years  of  age.  This  situation,  obtained  for  him 
by  his  friends  on  account  of  his  strong  military  tendencies, 
was  at  length  given  up  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his 
mother.  She  could  not  consent  to  have  him  at  so  early 
an  age  depart  from  under  her  influence  and  drift  away 
into  the  temptations  and  trials  with  which  his  life  would 
be  begirt,  arid  so  George  was  kept  at  home,  and  the  des- 
tiny of  the  world  changed.  Chosen  by  Lord  Fairfax  to 
survey  his  wild  lands  lying  amid  the  Alleghanies,  he,  then 
only  sixteen  years  old,  departed  on  his  arduous  mission. 
The  depths  of  an  American  forest,  with  its  hardships 
and  wild  freedom,  were  a  better  school  for  the  future 
commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army  than  the  Brit- 
ish navy  would  have  been,  and  here  he  acquired  that 
power  of  endurance  which  nothing  seemed  able  to  over- 
come. Now  swimming  his  horse  across  swollen  rivers, 
now  struggling  through  swamps  or  over  precipices,  and 
now,  weary  and  exhausted,  lying  down  on  his  bed  of 
boughs — the  trees  his  only  covering,  the  young  surveyor 
took  his  first  lessons  in  those  privations  which  he  after- 


WASHINGTON  AND  HIS  uENERALS.  17 

wards  taught  his  army  so  heroically  to  bear.  First  as 
surveyor  of  Lord  Fairfax,  and  afterwards  as  public  sur- 
veyor, he  spent  three  years  almost  wholly  in  the  open  air, 
sometimes  in  the  forest,  sometimes  amid  the  settlements. 
Ardent,  enthusiastic,  and  bold,  the  early  dreamer  stood 
amid  the  wilds  of  his  native  land,  little  thinking  of  the 
career  before  him,  or  of  the  glorious  destiny  that  awaited 
his  country.  His  name  rudely  carved  on  the  bark  of  a 
tree,  or  chiselled  in  the  rock,  were  the  only  mementoes  he 
expected  to  leave  of  himself,  while  Fate  was  silently  pre- 
paring to  grave  it  on  every  foot  of  soil  of  this  broad 
continent,  and  trace  it  above  all  earthly  names  on  the 
scroll  of  fame. 

Having  performed  his  duty  as  surveyor  so  well,  he  was 
chosen  adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of  major,  over  a 
portion  of  the  militia  whose  duty  it  was  to  repel  the  en- 
croachments of  the  French  and  Indians.  In  the  mean- 
time, however,  he  was  absent  four  months  in  the  Barba- 
does  with  a  sick  brother.  The  next  year,  being  then  twen- 
ty-one years  of  age,  he  took  the  field  with  his  militia  to 
repel  the  French,  who  were  establishing  settlements  on 
the  Ohio.  But  first  he  was  sent  as  commissioner  by 
Governor  Dinwiddie  to  demand  of  the  French  commander 
why  he  had  invaded  the  king's  colonies.  For  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles,  more  than  half  of  the  distance 
through  an  unbroken  wilderness,  accompanied  by  only 
seven  persons,  he  made  his  way  to  the  Ohio.  Across 
rivers  and  morasses,  over  mountains,  through  fearful 
gorges  and  amid  tribes  of  Indians,  the  fearless  stripling 
pursued  his  way,  and  at  length,  after  forty-one  days  of 
toil,  reached,  in  the  middle  of  December,  the  end  of  his 
journey.  Having  concluded  his  mission,  he  set  out  in 
the  dead  of  winter  to  retrace  his  dreary  route.  The  horses 
after  awhile  gave  out,  and  the  drivers  were  left  to  take 
care  of  them,  while  himself  and  Mr.  Gist  pushed  on  alone 
on  foot  through  the  wilderness.  With  his  knapsack  on 
his  back  and  his  gun  in  his  hand,  young  Washington 
made  his  way  through  the  deep  snow  and  over  the  frozen 
ground,  without  a  path  to  guide  his  footsteps  or  a  sound 
to  waken  the  solitude,  save  the  groaning  of  trees  swing- 
ing to  and  fro  in  the  storm,  or  the  cry  of  some  wild  ani- 


